Examining General Health in the Purview of Job Demand and Emotional Intelligence among Security Personnel in Nigeria.

Abstract

The general health of security personnel demands consistent research as security service may be considered one of the service occupations that is so demanding in nature due to constant interaction with both psychologically stable and unstable individual in the society. So, this study examined job demand and emotional intelligence as predictors of general health among security personnel. A cross-sectional survey design was employed and using both purposive and accidental sampling techniques, a total of two hundred and ninety-seven (297) personnel participated in the study, comprising 203 males and 94 females from Ondo state, Nigeria. Perceived work demand was measured using Perceived Work Demand Scale (α=.83), emotional intelligence by Emotional Intelligence Scale (α= .90) and general health by General Health Questionnaire (α =.76). The hypotheses formulated were tested with Multiple Regression Analysis and independent t-test. Results of the analysis revealed that job demands significantly predicted general health of security personnel in the negative direction (β = -.65, t = -15.22, p < .01), emotional intelligence significantly predicted general health (β = .13, t = 3.11, p < .01) and both jointly predicted general health [F (2, 294) = 130.70, p <.01]. Furthermore, the study revealed that there was a significant difference in the general health of security personnel based on the level of job demand [t (295) = 6.34, p < .01]. Based on these findings, it was concluded that job demand and emotional intelligence are important factors that could affect the general health of security personnel. It was therefore recommended that the methods of operation should be redesigned so as to control the demand of job placed on these personnel. Secondly, these security personnel should be exposed to trainings that can assist them to know more about emotional intelligence and how helpful it will be while discharging their duty.